Abstract. Polylactic acid (PLA), one of the well-known biodegradable polyesters, has been studied extensively for tissue engineering and drug delivery systems, and it was also used widely in human medicine. A new method to synthesize PLA (ring-opening polymerization), which allowed the economical production of a high molecular weight PLA polymer, broadened its applications, and this processing would be a potential substitute for petroleum-based products. This review described the principles of the polymerization reactions of PLA and, then, outlined the various materials properties affecting the performance of PLA polymer, such as rheological, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties as well as the processing technologies which were used to fabricate products based on PLA. In addition, the biodegradation processes of products which were shaped from PLA were discussed and reviewed. The potential applications of PLA in the medical fields, such as tissue engineering, wound management, drugs delivery, and orthopedic devices, were also highlighted.

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The aim of this review is to discuss the recent developments in thermoplastic starch blends. Starch has been considered as an excellent candidate to partially substitute synthetic polymer in packaging, agricul tural mulch and other low cost applications. Recently, the starch granules were plasticized using different plasticizers under heating and shearing, giving rise to a continues phase in the form of a viscous melt which can be processed using traditional plastic processing techniques, such as injection molding and extrusion. This kind of starch composites is called thermoplastic starch. Unfortunately, thermoplastic starch presents some drawbacks, such as low degradation temperatures, which make it difficult to process, poor mechanical properties and high water susceptibility. Much work has been carried out to overcome these drawbacks, including the combination of thermoplastic starch with other polymers, aiming at lowering the cost and enhancing the biodegradability of the final product.

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Biodegradable polymers belong to a family of polymer materials that found applications ranged from medical applications including tissue engineering, wound management, drugs delivery, and orthopedic devices, to packaging and films applications. For broadening their potential applications, biodegradable polymers are modified utilizing several methods such as blending and composites forming, which lead to new materials with unique properties including high performance, low cost, and good processability. This paper reviews the recent information about the morphology of blends consisting of both biodegradable and non biodegradable polymers and associated mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of these systems as well as their degradation behavior. In addition, the mechanical performance of composites based on biode gradable polymers is described.

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